


The Six Skating Princes

by LibrarySocks



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Age Changes, M/M, fairytale AU, fairytale retelling, may add more tags later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-21 07:35:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 5,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21295853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LibrarySocks/pseuds/LibrarySocks
Summary: A retelling of the fairytale The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Relationships: Otabek Altin/Yuri Plisetsky
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

Once upon a time, in a kingdom far far away, lived six young princes and their father, the king. The princes were all tall and fair, graceful and wise, and by most accounts, happy young boys. 

The eldest, Victor, was always smiling, and was well loved by all. The second son, Georgi, was often found writing poetry on the grounds, seemingly unbothered by the cold. The third son, Yuri, was a passionate young man, often found stomping or shouting, but his brothers were always near to prod him into sullen acquiescence. The fourth son Seung Gil was the quietest of all the boys, he followed his brothers lead with no complaint. His twin, Leo, was never far, glaring at anyone who bothered Seung Gil. The youngest son, Minami was louder and more excitable than all of his other brothers put together. He could usually be found wherever it was loudest in the kingdom, at the root of the noise. 

The boys lived a good life, taking lessons with tutors and instructors of all sorts. All of the boys shared a love of ice skating, and if they weren’t being given lessons in deportment or foreign languages or ballet, they could be found gliding on the giant lake behind the castle. People would come from all over the kingdom to watch them skate, and Victor frequently joked that their suitors would all need to know how to skate to capture their hearts. 

As such, ice skating was a bustling business in Agape. There wasn’t a man, woman, or child, who hadn’t tried their hand on the ice by the time they could walk. 

Our story starts after Minami’s sixteenth birthday. After the ball held in honor of the young prince, all of the young royals headed to bed, excited and happy. The next morning when they filed in for their lessons, though, they were all tired and slow. Victor fell on the ice, and Georgi fumbled a translation, Yuri was even more fierce and sullen than usual, Seung Gil and Leo drifted off in the middle of a lesson on social customs in the neighboring Eros kingdom, and Minami burst into tears after bumping into a maid sending a cascade of dishes crashing to the floor. The king ordered all six boys back to bed by lunch. 

The next day was much the same, and the day after that as well. Vexed, King Yakov searched the boys room while they were at lessons on the third day. He found that all of their ice skates had dull blades, and their cloaks were rumpled and dirty. Thinking he had found the reason for the boys lethargy, he forbade them from skating at night, and posted a guard outside their door. On the fourth day, though, their blades were dull again, and the boys were just as fatigued. In a rage, Yakov had the maids remove the skates while the boys were at lessons, but the next morning a sobbing Minami begged for the skates back, his toes blue and cold. When the king asked his youngest son to tell him where they went at night, he refused.

Now Yakov recognized a curse as well as the next person, and put the skates back. That night, he posted a guard inside the room, in hopes of catching the boys leaving before whatever awful thing befell them. In the morning, however, the guard had to be woken from his post, and the princes were all asleep in their beds. They didn’t rise until lunch, and their blades all needed to be sharpened once more. 

In desperation, Yakov announced that any person who could solve the riddle of the six skating princes would receive a royal boon of their choosing. The rules were thus: Each person would have three nights in the room of the prince’s to discover where the boys went. If, by the third night, they had not unraveled the mystery they would be thrown in the dungeons until such a time as the puzzle was solved. 

First came the champions from neighboring kingdoms, hoping to win favor with the large province of Agape for their sovereigns. Next came the soldiers and the scholars. Even normal citizens like the bakers son tried their hand at saving the beloved princes. Weeks turned into months as the princes became more withdrawn. Yakov and his people despaired as little Minami grew quiet and pale, and couldn’t get out of bed during the day. All seemed lost as the competitors thinned from a flood to a stream.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter the hero of Kazakhstan

In a kingdom far, far away, the hero of Kazakhstan thrust his sword towards the dragon that had been tormenting the small village below, before rolling to avoid falling treasure from the dragon’s horde. They danced in battle for hours, as he cornered the angry beast in its own lair, finally thrusting his sword into its chest, ending the contest. 

Otabek Altin, champion and mercenary, brought the head of the dragon to the head of the village and received his payment. He sent most of the gold coins with a bird to his sisters, pocketing the rest and heading onto the next town. 

Many of the smaller villages in this kingdom had no one to protect them from the wild things that lived in the forests beyond. He’d traveled down this road for many years, slaying dragons and trolls, handling dealings with the fey, and providing talismans against the things that go bump in the night. Otabek enjoyed his work, but even more, he enjoyed the money he could send to his sisters. 

Traveling for a living meant that Otabek knew a lot of local gossip, but didn’t bother with news from afar. As such, it was over a month before word of the cursed princes reached his ears. He had visited the Agape kingdom, once, when he was young, when his parents were still alive. He remembers skating on one of the smaller lakes in town, holding his mothers hand. He remembered how cold the kingdom was, and how beautiful the small princes were, in giant white fur lined coats, gliding across the large rink behind the palace. Otabek had wished he could skate like that, so graceful and quick. 

The kingdom is far, at least a weeks ride on horseback, but Otabek doesn’t hesitate after he hears of the princes plight. He packs lightly for the journey with rations and warmer clothes, before departing for Agape. 

It ends up taking almost two weeks before the kingdom comes into view. He walks his horse now, both of them exhausted and filthy from the journey. Otabek had fought off a swamp creature to rescue a peasants daughter two towns back, refusing payment, and his clothes still wear the worst of the battle. 

On the side of the road, before the bridge heading into Agape, sits an old beggar woman. Her back is hunched, and her cloak is tattered. All around her, people stream past, ignoring her pleas for a bite to eat or a blanket to warm her bones. Concerned, Otabek digs through his saddlebags, and approaches the woman. 

He hands her an apple and the thickest blanket he has, apologizing for not having more. The crone smiles up at him, missing many teeth, and thanks him for his kindness. In return, she offers him her cloak, and then whispers in his ear that he should wear it when he follows the princes. Finally, she tells him, don’t eat or drink anything from the castle at night, no matter how hungry or thirsty he is. 

Otabek nods at the advice, and takes the cloak gratefully. He knows better than to thank the old woman, implying he owes her for either. Instead, he bows, and continues on his journey to the palace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me to me: Isn't it cheating to post a multi-chapter fic for a fic a day challenge?  
Me to me: Not if I post the whole thing in one day
> 
> Anyway, I'm writing fast, I'm not editing, not my characters, etc etc. Kudos and comments keep the hysteria away, thanks for letting me play in your sandbox.


	3. Chapter 3

The first night Otabek sits in a chair inside the doorway as the princes ready for bed. Victor helps the twins, whose movements are slow, climb into their beds, and tucks them in. Minami, the youngest, has to be woken to eat his dinner, before he drifts back off to sleep. 

As the sun sets through the windows, Yuri offers him a mug of hot chocolate. Otabek takes it, and thanks the young prince, who musters up a glare before heading back to his own bed. Otabek pretends to sip from the mug as he watches the boys finish with their nightly preparations. When he’s sure none of them are looking, he pours a bit of the drink into the plant next to him, before pretending to drift off. 

It is almost an hour before Yuri is poking at his shoulder, and hissing back at his brothers that their jailer asleep. Otabek keeps his eyes closed, and his breathing even, as he listens to the boys begin to move around the room quietly. Several minutes pass with a flurry of activity, until finally Otabek peeks from beneath his lashes at the room. Victor is kneeling on the floor, tying Minami’s skates, who looks more awake than Otabek has seen him yet. The other brothers are wearing their own skates and cloaks, milling about next to Minami’s bed. Otabek watches in confusion as the boys line up, single file, next to a panel in the wall. He just barely keeps from gasping in surprise as the wall slowly swings open, and Victor steps through. 

Yuri looks over at him, as if he knows he is awake, but Otabek stays still and quiet as the rest of the princes walk through the wall. As the last of them disappear, he leaps up, and throws on the cloak the crone had given him, following them quickly. Inside he barely keeps from falling, the corridor a long sheet of ice. Otabek watches as the boys skate away, Minami hoots and hollers, grabbing onto Leo’s shoulders, laughing. There is the low roar of conversation, and Otabek decides that the people inside the castle must not be able to hear the princes through the walls. The boys skate slowly, because even though Minami seems to be in good spirits, he can’t move as quickly as the others. 

Otabek is grateful, as he tries to move on the ice in his boots. When Yuri looks back at him, perhaps at the sound of his steps on the ice, he freezes, convinced he is caught. The boy doesn’t raise the alarm, though, and his eyes seem to slide over Otabek as if he isn’t there

The hero of Kazakhstan quickens his pace, trying to close the gap between himself and the princes, but almost slams into the back of Prince Yuri when he comes to a dead stop. Otabek holds his breath as the young prince looks straight through him, then yelps when he moves and his cloak jerks back, having gotten caught under Otabek’s feet. Otabek jumps back while Yuri shouts for his brothers. Victor takes a quick look behind them, before telling Yuri to hurry up. The annoyance is as clear in his tone as it is on Yuri’s face. 

Otabek is more careful as he picks his way downward, sometimes falling far enough back that he has to follow the voices of the boys. Ahead, there is a strange glowing light, and he watches, amazed, as the castle walls fall away from the side of the corridor, and a forest arises. The trees glow with a coppery hue, and Otabek carefully approaches one of the trees. The leaves tinkle against each other, and he reaches up and pulls one off. It’s bronze, he realizes in wonder, and puts it in his pocket. 

He keeps carefully to the path now, as the forest widens around him. These are not trees he wishes to get lost in. Before long the light changes, and the trees turn to silver. Otabek looks around in amazement, running his hands through the leaves, before snapping another leaf and hurrying on to catch up to the princes. The next forest is the brightest, seeming to reflect a sun he cannot see, the leaves shining a bright gold. The path is now brightly lit, and Otabek can see the boys are nearing a large, dark lake. 

Unlike the lake behind the castle, this one is not frozen. Instead, the water lays black and calm. Each of the boys approaches a long pier and climbs into a boat waiting there. Otabek hurries after them, as Victor begins to glide across the lake in his own boat. He doesn’t reach for oars, and there doesn’t seem to be anything pushing or pulling him, and yet his boat crosses the lake quickly. Next Georgi ambles into his own boat, sighing forlornly as it begins to glide after Victor’s. 

Next Leo and Seung Gil climb into a boat together, Leo waving back at Minami who stands with Yuri on the pier. 

Yuri helps Minami carefully into his boat, who smiles up at his big brother gratefully. Otabek has a moment of panic when he thinks Yuri might climb in after him, but he doesn’t. As Yuri’s boat glides up to the pier Otabek climbs in as carefully as he can before the other boy. 

Yuri positions himself in the boat gracefully, standing on skates as easily as if they were shoes. Again, his eyes glide right past Otabek sitting in front of him. 

Otabek was right in his assumption that the cloak has made him invisible to the boys, but it was a gamble. He doesn’t know what the boys would have done if they’d watched him climb into the boat, and he’s glad to not have to find out.


	4. Chapter 4

The boats let off at the far shore, and Otabek just barely clears the boat before it’s gliding away to the other side. The path here is still ice, but he dare not stray from it no matter how much his legs ache from trying to keep his balance. In the distance, he can hear music and sounds of revelry. 

A castle looms impossibly over them, and Otabek takes care not to stare at it too long. Luckily, the boys don’t head towards the castle, instead entering a clearing where lights are strung up over a giant ice rink. Tables line the sides of the rink, laden with delicacies, and the ice is filled with gorgeous creatures gliding and dancing, jumping and spinning. As the princes enter the clearing a giant cheer goes up among the crowd, and six figures separate from the masses, approaching the princes. Each prince takes the hands of a figure, and soon they’re twirling and swaying with a partner. 

Otabek keeps back, observing. He can’t make out the features of the skating partners, they seem to shift and move in shadow when he looks, but each of the princes is enraptured. Some sort of enchantment, he muses, avoiding colliding with a small figure skating by. 

The skating goes on for hours, and the six princes never once seem to tire, not even Minami. Glee and euphoria paint their faces, as they lift and spin, jump and loop. A horn blares loudly and the revelers begin to fade back into the forest, leaving just the princes and their partners. They look up, sadly, throwing lingering glances at their captures, as they begin to skate off. 

Otabek runs ahead of them, staying on the path, moving as quickly as the ice will let him. When he reaches the water, a boat is waiting there, and he jumps in. It doesn’t move, however, until prince Minami is passed from brother to brother to sit opposite him. On the far edge, his conscious irks at him as he leaves the prince sitting exhausted but serene in his boat. He must make it back first, though, lest the princes know of his chase. 

Thankfully the panel to the room swings open when he reaches it, and he quickly deposits himself in his chair, throwing the cloak to the ground next to him. His breathing is even and calm when the princes start to emerge from the corridor and don their sleep clothes once more. 

He listens as they whisper about their skating partners and the music, the lights and the merriment. Minami drifts off mid sentence, and slowly the other boys quiet, as well. As the princes sleep around him, the hero of Kazakhstan begins to make a plan.


	5. Chapter 5

Early morning the guards open the room to let the maids in to wake up the princes. They all sigh and grumble at having to wake a sleeping Otabek, another competitor having failed to save the princes. 

Thankfully Otabek is used to existing on only a few hours of sleep, so his fatigue isn’t instantly apparent to the exhausted princes. He asks for an audience with the king, which does catch their attention, but there’s nothing they can do about it. 

The king agrees instantly to Otabek’s requests for ice skates and lessons from his sons. He makes it clear that he assumes this means that Otabek means to ask for Victor’s hand after solving the puzzle, and Otabek does not correct him. 

Victor shows him how to lace the skates and the twins help him onto the giant lake, taking turns skating him around the perimeter. When he has his feet, Yuri shows him how to pick up speed, and turn quickly. When late morning turns to late afternoon, Georgi shows him how to sharpen his blades and how to care for the skates. Otabek answers questions from the princes as honestly as he can, while always being vague enough to keep from giving anything away. 

The second night is much the same as the first, except that he is able to keep up much better on his new skates. He remembers to grab leaves from the trees again, and has a bit more trouble getting into the boat, but he manages. 

Again, the princes dance with their suitors, and Otabek is fairly certain they’re the same people. Georgi’s seems feminine and alluring, but still he can’t make out the exact features. Victor’s is graceful and dark, Minami’s animated and playful. Otabek wonders at the magic the keeps the princes so enthralled, while protecting itself from prying eyes. He wonders what his partner would look like, and the cost of the magic at play here. 

The princes find him at his post again when they return, and none of them seem suspicious. The guards grumble amongst themselves again as they wake Otabek, and the maids chatter as the princes have to dragged from their beds for breakfast. 

Today Otabek asks for an hour with each prince, alone, and the King agrees. He starts with Georgi, the most melancholy of the bunch. He asks first, if he can tell him where the princes go at night, and as expected, he denies that they go anywhere at all. Then he asks after Miniami’s health. Georgi tells him that Minami has been unwell since his birthday, but a blank look crosses his face when Otabek asks if he thinks it has anything to do with where they go at night. It’s as though he can’t hear the question, and he seems to have forgotten being asked at all when he comes back to himself. So Otabek asks if the man has ever been in love, and Georgi gets a faraway look in his eyes, before saying yes. A woman has ensnared his heart, a fiery, passionate woman, ruining him for anyone ever again. When Otabek asks if he might meet her, or know her name, though, Georgi is blank once again. His hour passes quickly in this manner. 

Victor answers much the same, though his love is described as determined and graceful, strong and loving. Yuri speaks of a man who is strong and quick witted, kind and clever. Seung Gil is in love with an intuitive person who never minds his silences, and Leo loves a quiet man. None of them can connect Minami’s failing health with their nightly disappearances, none of them will tell him where they go, none of them seem terribly interested in helping Otabek solve it at all.

Minami sits up in bed while Otabek questions him, sipping a bone broth. He talks animatedly about getting better so he can skate again with his brothers, and being able to eat his favorite foods. He agrees that he fell ill right after his 16th birthday, but imagines it’s just a coincidence. He talks about his mother, who he never got to meet, and his brothers, who care for him so well. The hour is almost up before Otabek is able to ask him if he’s ever been in love, and Minami turns a brilliant shade of red. 

Yes, he whispers, he knows of love, even though he’s so very young. He loves someone talented and kind, he says, and if he asked him to leave his kingdom forever, he would. Before Otabek asks if that might be something he’s expecting to be asked, though, the other brothers file in, informing him that his hour is up, and Minami needs his rest to get well. 

It’s in this manner that Otabek comes to the conclusion that the boys themselves have been enchanted, and that breaking it might be harder than he had hoped. Something nags at the back of his mind, but he can’t put his finger on it. He eats a quick lunch and spends the rest of the afternoon sleeping in the stables, hoping to recoup his energy for the evening.


	6. Chapter 6

Otabek has a plan the third night, and he just hopes it won’t get him killed or trapped. He follows the princes as always to the clearing, and watches them skate around the rink. He winces, his own feet blistered and aching from so many hours on the ice. He wonders how the princes even stand after so many nights of spinning on the lake. 

Even little Yuri is oblivious to his presence tonight, no longer looking over his shoulder as they journey from castle to castle. No doubt the princes assume that tonight will be the last night with Otabek, and tomorrow a new guard will sit, drugged, in his place. 

Do they feel any remorse for the men and women in the dungeons? Does the enchantment keep them from wondering about their previous rescuers, or do they in their love addled minds see them only as enemies? 

Otabek bides his time as the princes stare worshipfully at their partners, dipping and turning to the music. Sometimes he gets up and skates carefully around the edges, to keep awake and alert. When the horn blares, he skates quietly to the edge, and watches as the six princes say goodbye to their six partners, filing off onto the pathway home. 

He observes, carefully, as the figures on the ice watch the retreating backs of the princes. As they disappear from view, their faces slowly come into focus. Their features are clearly fey, Otabek would bet his fortune on it, and their figures slowly look less and less humanoid. One has ears like a cat, another wings, a third still scales on his arms. They turn and walk silently towards the castle, and Otabek doesn’t dare move until they are out of sight, before racing to the pier. 

Tonight only Victor is left, having deposited his brothers into their own boats. He’s just stepping into his boat when Otabek rounds the corner. He pulls one of the bronze leaves from his pocket and chucks it as hard as he can towards the water, where it splashes terrifically. Victor stops from getting into the boat to look around, puzzled. Otabek leaps into the boat, not caring at the way it shakes and tips. Victor looks even more confused at the boat, before Minami shouts from across the water for him to hurry. 

Otabek has to race past the brothers through the forest, to get to the room before them, and many of them jump or shout as he does. None of them see him, or course, but there’s no quiet or still way to get there before them. 

The princes are all excited and boisterous in their discussion of the phantom in the enchanted corridor when the enter the room. Yuri checks that Otabek is still asleep while the twins undress and dress Minami, making guesses at what it could be. Otabek tries to keep his breathing as even as he can, and just hopes that his exertion doesn’t show on his face. He doesn’t doubt that the princes would find a way to silence him if they knew he was going to expose them. 

Daylight peeks through the windows at the boys droop off one by one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I regret everything that told me that writing a multichap in one day was a good idea. The end is near!


	7. Chapter 7

The guards wake Otabek by dragging him into the audience chamber with the king. He rubs the sleep from his eyes as the king booms down at him from his throne, asking if Otabek has solved the riddle of the skating princes. 

Otabek nods, yawning and stretching, before requesting that the princes be brought in. The king snaps his fingers, and it is done at once. 

Once everyone is assembled, Otabek explains how the princes leave their bedroom every night via an icy corridor, describes the forests, the lake, and the palace under the palace. He chronicles his three nights in the clearing, and shows the leaves he snapped off the trees, and recounts the princes skating with their suitors. The king looks disbelieving at Otabek, examining the leaves. 

The king asks if this is true, and Minami stumbles forward and declares that it is. Otabek nods, glad for the confirmation that the first enchantment, at least, is broken. Before he can tell the king about the other magics, however, the boys are stepping forward to tell all about their nightly adventures. Otabek listens as they describe nights of revelry and days of longing, waiting for his turn to speak again. 

The princes are sent back to their room to rest, and Otabek offers to help the king break the enchantments still laid on the princes, for a few additional boons, of course. First, he asks for access to the information he’ll need, the king cannot lie or hide anything from Otabek, lest he lose his sons for his kingdom. Second, he may have his pick of princes to marry, if the prince agrees, of course. Third, his sisters may come and live at the castle and be treated with respect whether a prince agrees to marry him or not. 

The king, not daring risk his sons to this enchantment inside his own kingdom, agrees. Otabek begins to set everything into motion immediately, in hopes of saving the six princes that very evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One, maybe two chapters left. No really. I'm nearing the twelve hour mark for typing, either the fic ends or my back calls its union rep.


	8. Chapter 8

Otabek warns the guards to stay out of the room until he gives the signal. Yuri offers him up the customary cocoa, but Otabek just shakes his head and smiles. He knows the boys can't help but leave, whether he's watching or not, a compulsion they aren't allowed to ignore. He watches the boys file out of the room, and knocks on the door behind him, before hurrying after them. He trusts that the men will do as they’ve been told. 

Otabek dons his cloak and skates one last time, skating down the corridor as the walls turn to trees, leading to the water. He rides in Yuri’s boat, and Yuri smirks at when the boat leans in the water, but doesn’t say anything. 

The princes twirl with their partners again, life blooming in their flushed cheeks. Otabek would almost wish he didn’t have to snatch this happiness away, if he didn’t know the horror lurking underneath. 

As the horn blares and the ice clears, the guards emerge from the pathway, swords drawn. The princes grasp the hands of their partners tightly, aghast. At first it is a standoff, but as time drags on, the suitors begin to shake off the princes, trying to get away. Otabek knows that far above them, the sun is about to make its ascent. Otabek calls out for them to look, look at their loves, and the princes do. 

Minami cries out first, as his suitor’s face comes into focus, and scales start shining up and down his arms. He steps away in disgust, wrenching his arm away, flailing backwards on his skates. Tears shine down his face as he stares up at the retreating form. Otabek signals for the guards to block off his exit, and takes in the other princes expressions. Most of them are horrified, but Georgi refuses to let his go, and Yuri has covered his eyes to keep from seeing. The guards circle the fey creatures and Otabek gently takes Yuri by his shoulders, removing his hand.

You must look, he whispers, then guides him to sit on the far bank when he begins to cry. Georgi has to be pried off, screaming all the while. Otabek has the guards start the walk to the water, only a few staying behind with him. 

First he admonishes them for trading so heavily on such a bum deal. Consternation plays across the tallest fey's face, Victor’s partner. Otabek informs him, yes, he knows of their deal with the queen, a deal for a daughter after so many sons. They’d only been able to offer her more and more children until she’d perished in childbirth with her youngest, their end of the bargain never fulfilled. Now of course, they’d provided the fertility for so many robust young men, but surely by now they had been paid in full. A new deal, perhaps, could be struck. 

Otabek negotiates with the fey for several hours, making sure everything is ironclad. One of the guards records the new accord dutifully, handing the only copy to Otabek to safeguard. The fey have no use for paper records, their dealings are ironclad, and unforgettable. 

The princes are desolate in their beds, shame and grief flashing across their faces in equal measure. The path behind the door is blocked off with brick and mortar in short order, and Georgi wails as the door is shut for the final time. 

Otabek promises to return the next day, after the princes are well rested and have had time to sort themselves out. He has something to tell them, and it may cost him everything, but they all deserve to know the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, I've never written anything this long and actually published it before. Are the chapters hopelessly lopsided when it comes to word count? Yes. Am I going to do anything about it? Probably not. 
> 
> Hang onto your pants kiddos, I think the next chapter is the last one.


	9. Chapter 9

Otabek begins with Georgi, because it seems cruel to do otherwise. He comforts the distraught prince, and explains the agreement his mother had made, all in hopes of having a daughter. Then he tells him that the fey creature in the kingdom underneath his own is not who he thinks she is, and Georgi protests violently. When Otabek asks him to describe her to him, though, he cannot. He only knows that he loves her still, and that she is waiting for him. Already his memories of skating on a lake beneath a lake are fading, leaving only pain and confusion in their wake. 

He offers Georgi a small hope, a hope the man needs it seems, to survive. The fey had mostly likely been impersonating someone, someone very real, who is Georgi’s soulmate. She might right at this moment be out in the world, waiting to meet him, but she never will if he drives himself mad trying to reach the fey imposter in the kingdom below. 

Georgi seems mildly comforted, and Otabek can tell that it won’t be long before Georgi sets off to find this mystery woman. He hopes that the two will find each other quickly, and that she is everything Georgi has imagined her to be. 

Next he brings in the twins, together, as they refuse to be separated. They seem less interested in running off on an adventure to find their true loves, though. Instead, they seem content to be safe, and together, and seeing clearly once again. Otabek wonders if they will change their minds later, but decides that some things are too personal to discuss. 

Minami is already recovering from his mystery illness, and Otabek thinks it would be too cruel to tell the boy of the years the fey were siphoning off of him each night, until he would have been a husk of himself and starting on his brothers. Instead, he tells him only that the fey illness will dissipate quickly, and then explains as best as he can as he did with his brothers. Minami looks determined when Otabek finishes, and he suspects that he will start on his own quest when he is of age. Not his problem, he reminds himself. 

Next is Victor, who seems resigned when he walks in. Before Otabek can begin to explain the curse laid on their family by his mother, he tells Otabek that he will marry him. Otabek doesn’t laugh, but it is a very near thing. He nods, and tells Victor what he’d told his brethren, then asks if Victor will still marry him. Victor is steadfast, though, and says yes, if this is the boon required for rescuing his brothers, he will give it gladly. He knows his soulmate will be fine without him, because he is a strong and kind man. Otabek does laugh now, and tells Victor he has no interest in marrying him, even if it would mean he might one day rule at his side. Victor looks scared to hope as he leaves the room, passing a sullen Yuri on his way out. 

Yuri eyes him distrustfully, and Otabek laughs, saying that soon Yakov will have no sons left, as they all go gallivanting around the globe. He watches Yuri’s face carefully as he recites the now practiced speech, noting the way he flinches at his mother's desire for a daughter, and blushing when Otabek explains about the fey glamour. 

Otabek, the hero of Kazakhstan, then kneels on one knee, and looks up the shaking Yuri. He then asks for his boon, and Yuri nods, tears streaming down his face. He has to ask, though, to be sure. Was his the face the fey creature had worn, and he feels equal parts relieved and horrified when the answer is yes. There will be plenty of time later to untangle that, for now, though, he has a groom to get to the alter before his father realizes that he just sent off half of the princes on dangerous quests.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I write a YOI fic without a proposal? It doesn't look like it. 
> 
> Y'all should know that I hate endings. I don't like reading them, I don't like watching them, and apparently, I don't like writing them. *shrug emoji* 
> 
> *screams into the void* This isn't even my ship! 
> 
> As always, thanks for letting me participate in this fandom with you! If you didn't hate it, leave kudos, so I can keep writing stuff you don't hate. ^_^ Reminder that this isn't edited, like, at all, and may never be. Feel free to let your inner editor fly while you read!

**Author's Note:**

> So I changed the ages of some of the characters, because I wanted Yuri to be the middle prince, and because I needed two of the princes to be twins. Also, Minami makes the perfect baby of the family, in my opinion! 
> 
> This is for my attempt to publish something everyday for the month of November, so disclaimer, this isn't super edited, because it was written very quickly. I apologize in advance for any spelling or grammatical errors, or anything you consider to be glaring character issues. Also, it's been years since I read the original fairytale, so I'm keeping very loosely to the plot, sorry if I mess that up, too. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who leaves kudos and comments, I'm very new to posting my writing and every nice thing you guys say makes my day! I love this fandom so much, thank you for letting me participate!!


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